We had a death in the family this weekend. Young, healthy, went to work, didn’t come home.So here’s a post dedicated to life, however brief it is. You only have a brief blip of life, and when it’s over, well, it’s over. I hope you all are doing what you can to have a great blip — and maybe leaving a nice legacy of positive impact behind you.
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My condolences
For my part, I’m doing what I can to enjoy my little blip!
Words fall short in expressing saddness when we loose a loved one to death…my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Dave…
Indeed…may Scott Rest in Peace
That says alot. Sorry for your loss.
My thoughts are with your family.
Someone gave this poem to my upon the death of my father. It reminds us all to use that “blip” wisely.
Sorry for your loss David. Indeed, life is the greatest gift.
Dave,
It’s tough to lose someone close like that. Man, I feel for you.
Take care of yourself and your family. We’ll be here for you if you need it, I’m sure.
David:
Deepest condolences & sympathy.
“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,”
John Donne, from his Meditation XVII
hmmmm. hopefully he wasn’t like u and believed in God. then at least theyll be in a better place.
its too bad you think we are all accidents in this universe and are advanced animals who have no purpose but to survive til death
heiswhoheis:
I don’t think this is the appropriate thread for that sort of commentary.
Nice show of xtian sympathy, BTW.
Sorry to hear about the loss Dave.
My son just got out of the hospital this past Wednesday after a 10-day stay (ruptured appendix), and I feared losing him for the first few days because he kept getting worse. Not that I know exactly what you are going through, but thoughts of losing a loved one did touch my life this past week.
PS: heiswhoheis, how crass. Look, if you want to bash atheism and evolution, at least have the decency to do so in a thread not dealing with the death of someone’s relative.
heiswhoheis,
Nice show of compassion. Show a little respect. Even Phreedm did!
And Phreed, you did earn a sliver of my respect for that. Don’t get a big head about it though…
Seems to me we have just long enough living our lives to realize how short they really are.
On the subject of death as it relates to atheism:
A lot of people believe in God, it seems, for the sole reason of feeling better about death. It takes a certain kind of person to prepare for death knowing there’s nothing else coming. I think a lot of the time, people get the idea that the idea of an afterlife is beautiful, but I happened across this poem once– it’s great. It’s not necessarily an easy read, at least not for me, but it’s a great commentary about how much more beautiful life can be knowing it’s a limited-time-only deal.
http://tinyurl.com/ngttc
So sorry, Dave.
My sympathies to your loss David. I hope it was very quick and with little awareness.
I have always believed that death is the single largest factor in the creation and maintenance of religious belief. It helps to not only explain, but, also to comfort and I try to keep this in mind when understanding why religion persists in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.
The way I deal with death is knowing that there is no awareness at all for the dead person, just like the state before conception and birth, and that there is absolutely nothing to fear in annhilation. The living are the ones for whom death is painful. Hang in there, time will make it easier.
Alex.
Sorry to read bout your loss, Dave. All things pass away eventually, and there is little that we can do about it, even with all the progress we have made.
I am glad to see that you have found a way to create something positive from the loss. This seems to me to be the message Atheism should be getting out as often as possible: just how precious life is. Too precious to waste on fantasies or hatred. Too precious to be indifferent to the welfare of those who live in distant lands, even if they can have no effect on our own lives. Too precious, even, to casually destroy the lives of those who we think of as enemies: because they too have cousins who feel the loss.
Bones: thank you for the poem. I had not read it in years and had forgotten it. Among other things, it is a reminder that religious types can also appreciate the importance of how this life is spent.
Take care, all.
Dave
I’m very sorry for the loss of your cousin, Scott. I hope he didn’t suffer.
And I hope he enjoyed his life to the fullest while he could. His memory will continue in the minds of those who knew and loved him.
I think the as Alex does, that there is no awareness in death, as before birth, so the hard part goes to those left living, to deal with the emptiness of not having a loved one around any longer.
May you and your family find comfort in each other, and if possible, in the words and friendship of those here at NGB.
Take care.
David,
I’m so sorry to hear about your cousin. It’s so hard to lose someone close, especially when they are young.
DNAunion,
I am glad to hear your son came through his appendicitis! I know you must be really relieved.
Isn’t it weird that a relatively simple thing like appendicitis can sometimes escalate into a long hospital stay?
When your children are sick, it really does make you grateful for each day you get with them.
my condolences for the apparent unexpected passing of your cousin scott.
i kind of like this quote by RW Emerson:
“Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”
i trust that Scott’s blip/dash was positive toward his family and friends and that he experimented with gusto.
sorry for your loss david.
My condolences Dave.
I just realized the copy of the poem I posted yesterday starts out……”I read of a reverend….”. I pulled it from the internet since I wasn’t at home at the time.
The framed copy I have at home starts out…..”I read of a man who stood to speak…..”
Wonder which one is the original? Both are attributed to the same author.
I wish I could do more than just type out an apology. I hope you and the rest of the family are pulling through.
TomSD:
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Finitude gives meaning and beauty to every action, every thought, and every experience we have.
I hope this is not innapropriate here, but I just spent the weekend in Colorado where my cousin just got married. Some of her immediate family, as well as the groom’s are hyper-religious. A lot of literal born-agains. My father and many of my maternal uncle’s are pretty hard-core atheists and secularists. It was a weird experience, we just bit our tongues so as not to rock the boat. It was still pretty emotional just the same.
It is interesting how times like these, a death in the family, a marriage, new born children etc bring our discussions into much sharper relief. Again, sorry for your loss Dave.
My condolences to you and your family, Dave. It’s all the more tragic when someone dies young.
Dave, my deepest sympathies at your loss.
I always say that a loved one lives on- not in the idyllic paradise of Heaven- but in the hearts and memories of those who loved him.
And every time we say or do something that brings our lost loved one back to our minds, they live again, in that flash of memory.
Not in a magical, mystical way but in a simple smile painted across a face by the brush of memory.
My warmest condolences….
Sorry to hear about your loss, Dave.
From the post I assume it might have been work related?
We as atheists know there is no golden parachute at our life’s end, so make the best of your time here, and hope disease of some sort won’t claim you too soon.
But accidental death is avoidable and a true tragedy, a waste of the rest of your life.
So everyone, please be careful out there, death gives no do-overs.
I kinda feel the same way Fugazigirl, we all live forever in the memories of our loved ones. So Dave keep the memories and share the stories and he will never be outta your life. My thoughts are with your family.